As Tom Brady thrives at age 44 and muses about playing until he’s 50, he was asked on Thursday to explain what he’d tell young quarterbacks who hope to have long NFL careers.
“Good luck,” Brady said.
“It’s tough, but it’s up to them,” he added. “Yeah, if you do the right stuff, you have a shot. But I see a lot of people not do the right stuff. I try to influence the people I can. First of all, you have to love it. If you want to do it for a long period of time, you have to really excel at it and that really comes from loving it. It’s a lot of different motivations over long periods of time. Lots of little things at different moments – some is more motivation, some is more inspiration, but there are a lot of different things that play into it.”
Dedication is a huge part of it. A willingness to devote your life to your craft. Diet, exercise, sleep, study, everything. Year in and year out. Over and over again.
Brady had all of it, along with plenty of luck. And possibly a deal with the devil. The longer he keeps playing, the more likely that scenario becomes.